We Fear Possible Measures by Israel In Case of Taking Our Vessel, Yet We Won't Retreat.

This marks the concluding text I will compose prior to either outcome materializing: we make it to Gaza, or Israel seizes our ship. We hope to get there on the ninth of October, after sailing the seas since September 27th.

Recently, we saw the abduction by Israel the crew members from the initial Global Sumud flotilla the night prior to planned landing. This appears to be the comparable stage that Israel might try to capture our boats belonging to our humanitarian mission.

Journeying During Risky Situations

Our second flotilla has continued sailing regardless of various stories concerning the fate of the earlier activists. When we were off Cyprus, organizing evening shifts amid concerns about an unknown aerial vehicle, we received news regarding the illegal capture by Israel the two main Sumud boats in international waters.

Subsequent sunrise brought sobering reality as I performed routine tasks: washing plastic bowls in the limited kitchen space, checking my phone periodically while Israel progressively captured the additional aid vessels.

These events have merely reinforced our united commitment to persist in our journey.

Living Conditions Aboard

During this voyage phase, I've created a schedule. My sleep schedule involves sleeping from 11pm to 2am, then handling nighttime monitoring through early morning, securing additional rest later completing five cumulative hours. More sleep proves impossible during choppy waters and frequent disturbances of communal living.

My sleeping arrangement consists of a slim mattress located atop the common furniture in the communal zone. Daily I get clothed inside my sleeping bag during morning beverage preparation in close proximity. Various elements of shared living among six companions aboard a compact boat demand considerable adjustment.

  • Staying in one place proves difficult in specific spots indefinitely without obstructing others.
  • Despite these challenges, we enjoy positive relationships.
  • Shared purpose assists combined with our navigators' experience.
  • Their professional knowledge produces pervasive serenity.

The Mission's Purpose

The medical supplies and baby nourishment items stored in the stern cabin and cockpit area of our vessel could save numerous lives should we achieve our goal. During a recent interview, an interviewer proposed they viewed our mission as symbolic since interception seemed inevitable.

Viewed from afar, this interpretation might seem plausible. But, subsequent to traveling extended periods with relief supplies everywhere around you, familiar with its specific storage, persisting belief proves necessary for assisting desperate communities.

Expanding Beyond Assistance

Yet, providing supplies is not the mission's final objective. Representatives regularly ask about not allowing them distribute our supplies. Aside from justified suspicion regarding actual delivery during sustained barriers, agreeing to these terms would tacitly accept Israeli control over Palestinian waters.

Troubling Reports

Additional accounts surfaced regarding the first mission members: movement to Negev facility, categorization as undocumented migrants notwithstanding involuntary transfer from international waters. Accounts described withholding of basic necessities including water, medicine and food, combined with humiliating conduct and periodic aggression through facility staff.

Recent statistics indicated numerous mission members were removed as multiple individuals continued confined.

Larger Framework

These circumstances look appalling but they diminish beside to the systematic abuses experienced by detained Palestinians at comparable locations. Recorded instances involve deadly force leading to mortality without subsequent accountability concerning participating officers.

Human rights organizations have extensively recorded widespread torture practices and assault occurrences throughout imprisonment locations. Although global attention regarding flotilla participants' treatment remains justified and necessary, equivalent consideration proved missing for Palestinian suffering throughout decades of conflict.

Morning Reflections

Each morning I observe the boundless blue ocean and the setting golden satellite ahead of subsequent daylight. This oceanic autonomy to journey tremendous distances underscores the crucial understanding that our objective surpasses aid.

Liberation for Palestinians stays unachieved while our personal freedoms continue restricted before that liberation is achieved. This core concept illuminates our ongoing journey. The logic remains simple.

Steve Reed
Steve Reed

Blockchain developer and interoperability specialist, passionate about building decentralized bridges to connect diverse ecosystems.